


Shifting Perspective

by Silas_Writes



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, One-Sided Attraction, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, endgame shklance, the one-sided attraction is for lancelot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2019-04-16 00:19:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14152551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silas_Writes/pseuds/Silas_Writes
Summary: Creatures that shouldn't exist have been hiding in plain sight amongst humankind for centuries.What is Lance to do when he finds himself taken by such creatures?The same ones that just might have gotten Shiro years ago?The only thing Keith knows is that he's not going to just let a loved one be taken out of his life again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to @spicygenou for beta'ing this for me! She's the best! <3
> 
> My tumblr: http://shippingvoltron.tumblr.com

The rain pattered against the window pane. Thunder rumbled outside and shook the thin walls of the apartment. A flickering flash of light lit up the bed from the window, and dark eyes screwed tightly shut as sharp teeth clenched and grinded. The smooth touch of a hand against his cheek had Keith snapping his eyes back open. Black-violet orbs met those as blue as the oceans. Keith’s breath left him in a rush as he addressed the other, “Lance, you’re home.”

Lance slid into bed beside Keith and pressed a kiss to his forehead. His hair was still damp from the rain outside, but it seemed that he had been back long enough to change out of his work uniform and into a loose tank top and basketball shorts. How had Keith not noticed him sooner? Lance pulled away to speak, “I missed my usual bus.”

That explained why he was late. Relief flooded through Keith, and soon, he found himself wrapping his arms around Lance’s middle and burying his face in the crook of his neck. Lance stilled momentarily in surprise, but his arms snaked around Keith’s back, hands rubbing small, comforting circles there. Keith took a couple of deep breaths, trying to keep himself together, before hissing, “Next time,  _text me._  I’ll come get you.”

“On what? Your bike? I don’t think so. Not in the rain.” Lance laid down, bringing Keith with him.

Keith pressed tight against him. “Fuck the rain.”

Lance felt something wet slide against his neck.  “Babe?”

He attempted to scoot back enough to see Keith’s face, but the other refused to budge. A small, shuddering breath was his only answer. Lance’s brows furrowed with concern. He tightened his arms before rolling and pushed himself up as soon as Keith’s back hit the mattress. “Keith, what’s wrong?”

Keith had turned his head away, shoulders trembling with the effort to keep his emotions reigned in. However, Lance could see the tears that had managed to escape down his cheeks. His heartstrings were tugged at the sight of them. He tried again, lifting a hand to wipe a thumb gently over a pale cheek. “Keith, baby? Talk to me.”

“I-I’m sorry. I thought… I thought I would be okay today,” Keith whispered quietly. This only deepened Lance’s growing mix of concern and confusion until he remembered the date.

_March 18th._

It was the third anniversary of the day Keith’s previous boyfriend was pronounced dead after having been missing for months.

Heart sinking, Lance slowly lowered himself back to Keith’s side and wrapped his arms securely around him. He coaxed Keith to turn onto his side, pressing his chest to Keith’s back. Once they were comfortable, he whispered, “I’m sorry…”

What else could he possibly say? He certainly didn’t know. He couldn’t imagine losing someone so close to him. He couldn’t imagine losing Keith. Just the thought of it caused a twinge of pain in his chest. He could only imagine how Keith had felt living through the actual event. Lance hugged him closer. If anything, he could be a silent pillar of support for this boy he’s come to love so much during their past year together.

They spent the rest of the night in melancholic silence, feeding off each other’s warmth and praying the pain would one day fade.

 

* * *

 

“One iced americano with an extra shot of espresso for a-” Lance squinted at his coworker’s messy handwriting on the side of the cup before hesitantly calling out the name, “Sincline?”

A sigh of relief breezed past his lips when a taller man stepped up to the pick-up counter. Lance didn’t get the name wrong. He gave the stranger his best smile. “Here you are, sir! Have a great evening.”

The man, who had been looking down at his phone, lifted his piercing, cornflower gaze to meet Lance’s own. A chill wracked down Lance’s spine like ice water, causing the hair on the back of his neck to rise. Something just didn’t feel right about this guy. Still, Lance kept his smile dutifully in place. The man took the cup with surprisingly gentle fingers. His voice was low when he spoke. The kind of low tone that Lance could’ve seen himself hung up over before he had met Keith.

“Thank you,” he paused, eyes dropping to the barista’s nametag, “Lance.”

That was utterly sinful. The smooth, clean way Lance’s name slipped off that tongue. Lance’s mouth went dry, watching as the guy turned and walked away. He could only watch that long hair with its curled ends sway until the man was out of sight. He jumped when he felt a sharp jab to his side.

“I’m gonna tell Keith.”

Lance’s jaw dropped as he turned to look down at his tawny haired coworker, “Tell him what?”

“That you’re checking out other guys’ butts,” she stuck her tongue out at him, a smirk playing at the edges of her lips.

“I-I am not! I just really want to know what kind of hair products that guy uses.” The excuse fell flat to even his own ears.

Pidge looked unimpressed but amused. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

“Get back to work!” They both snapped to attention at their manager’s shout, hurrying to get back to their respective tasks.

Time seemed to fly after that. Order after order was bought, made, and given: difficult customers with their unnecessarily long and complicated orders,clueless customers that looked as if the apocalypse was on the rise just staring at the cafe’s menu, and quirky customers that kept trying to order things that weren’t even on the menu. Lance’s sore soles and aching head were relieved when the sign on the door was finally flipped to closed. It had long since grown dark outside. He busied himself with cleaning up while Pidge counted down the till, ready to get back home and, maybe, watch a movie with his waiting boyfriend.

He whistled a nonsensical tune as he carried a couple of filled trash bags out the back door. What he didn’t expect to see after he dumped the bags into the alleyway dumpster was a pack of wolves. He froze, eyes wide as the five beasts surrounded him. He could barely make any of them out in the dark. Just when he got it into his mind to yell, the one directly in front of him, with fur as white as snow, pounced. Lance flailed as he fell back, his head smacked hard against the metal siding of the dumpster as he went down. Stars burst behind his eyelids before something strong encased his neck, closing off his airway with a hard squeeze. He began to struggle, but heavy weights were applied to his legs and arms. His chest began to burn as his body fought for air. His blue eyes welled with tears, effectively blurring his vision.

He couldn’t die like this. What about Keith? He’d be all alone--again. Lance, desperate to escape, strengthened his resolve and renewed his waning fight for his life. The clamp around his neck only tightened, and soon, black started clawing at the edges of his vision. He was going under whether he wanted to or not. As his body finally submitted and fell limp, Lance swore he could hear a rather familiar voice murmur two words:  _“Good human.”_

“Lance, what’s taking you so long? I’m about to lock your stuff inside. You better get back in here and grab it,” Pidge announced loudly as she stepped out the back door. She paused as she glanced up and down the alley, not seeing hide nor hair of her coworker. Her eyes snapped up to the fire escapes along the sides of the buildings, hoping to see Lance’s shit eating grin, but he wasn’t there either. Her stomach dropped like lead in water as she scrambled inside and grabbed her phone. First, she dialed his number; Lance never went anywhere without his phone. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest when the all too familiar lyrics of “Feeling Myself” sang quietly from the phone vibrating beside the espresso machine. Her entire being went numb as she stared at the phone in silent horror.

Lance was gone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ***unbeta'd***

It had been a long morning of being questioned by police and investigators. Keith was finally let go and allowed to return home around noon. He slammed his apartment door shut before stripping off his jacket and flinging it across the room with a grunt. A yell followed soon after along with his fist going through the drywall. He bit into his lower lip as he yanked his hand from the wall, and he slumped against the door only to slide down it. As soon as he was seated on the floor, he curled his knees up to his chest and pressed his forehead to them. He clenched and unclenched his fists. An awful mix of emotions coursed through his veins, but only one stood out like an old friend: grief. 

It happened  _ again _ .

Lance was gone without a trace just like Shiro had been. The only difference was that Lance went missing at the end of his shift. Shiro had gone missing while driving.  _ They never even found his truck. _ Keith’s brows furrowed as he thought. He could almost hear Lance telling him that his current expression will end up immortalized in his wrinkles later in life. He could almost feel warm fingertips trailing between his brows to ease the hard look off his face. He let his eyes fall shut, trying to relax. However, the tears that had been welling in his eyes finally broke their dam, spilling hot down his cheeks. It only caused his brows to furrow once more as he grit his teeth.  _ He hated crying.  _ It made him feel weak, and he couldn’t afford to be weak. Not now. 

He needed to find Lance. There was no way he was just going to let him disappear on him. Not like the others. Keith was tired of being left. He raised his head and dug his phone out of his back pocket. Unlocking the screen, he immediately set about scrolling through his contacts. If he was going to do this, he’d need some help. Once he found her name, he tapped it and raised the phone to his ear. It rang a few times before clicking over to voicemail.

_ “You’ve reached my phone, and I didn’t answer. That means I’m either ignoring you or an alien stole my phone. Leave a message, but either way I’m not getting back to you.” _

The beep sounded loud and long before Keith released a heavy sigh and spoke, “Hey, Pidge. Look. I know we’re all still shaken up about what happened--I know I am.--, but I could really use your help with something…”

 

* * *

Ocean blue eyes cracked open to darkness. After a few blinks, Lance realized it wasn’t so much dark as his vision was blurred. Squinting as he looked around, he noted he was in a room of some sort. There were no windows, and only one door. His hands gripped the thin sheet on the small single bed under him. He swallowed as he sat up only to immediately regret it as his dry throat constricted and prickled in pain. Whoever it was that had him certainly did a number on his throat.

The door opening had him scrambling to press his back against the wall. He raised his hands to shield himself against the harsh light that flooded in from outside. He had just lowered his hands when a large silhouette filled the doorway before marching in.  A large hand wrapped around his upper arm and yanked him off the bed, their grip bruising. Lance hissed, his voice almost a croak, “Ow!”

“Ah! I see you’re finally awake.”

Lance blinked several times, trying to focus his stare on the person speaking. He couldn’t really make the other out from their position outside the doorway. “What do- Why?”

“Save your questions for later. Acxa, the cloak if you please.”

The hand on his arm let him go, causing him to stumble. Another figure rushed into the room. Smaller, chilled hands caught him before he could fall flat on his face and draped a heavy material over his head. 

“Stay still.” The new voice was feminine and stern. Lance did as he was told, closing his eyes. The material was adjusted around him until the person was pleased. Only when their hands left him did he reopen his eyes. He blinked at the woman in front of him. Her deep blue eyes stared back. “There.”

His eyes wandered over the group of women that had entered the room and were now surrounding him. He couldn’t remember ever seeing any of them before. His eyes passed over each of their faces before suddenly snapping back to one with long, white hair, realizing that  _ she  _ was in fact a  _ he  _ and that he was also the guy from the coffee shop. Lance had definitely seen him before. “Sincline?”

A smile curled over his lips. “You remember. Good. That means we didn’t do much damage.”

Lance swallowed again, wincing. Sincline’s eyes raked down to his neck. “Narti, please, tend to his injuries. We need him in perfect health.”

Another woman approached him, hefting a bag from off her shoulders. Lance shook his head and backed away. “I want answers.”

“You’ll receive them.” Sincline frowned as Lance continued to step out of Narti’s reach. “Zethrid, hold him still, will you?”

Lance struggled as the pair of hands from before grasped his upper arms and lifted him a couple inches off the carpeted floor.  _ “What the hell?!” _

He knew he was lean, but he didn’t exactly consider himself a toothpick! He started to kick, but the aggressive tone in his ear made him stop immediately. “Keep fighting, and I’ll knock your lights out.”

Lance found himself back on his feet after a moment, Narti immediately pushing a medicinal-tasting tablet past his lips before he could react. He went to spit it out, but Zethrid smacked her hand over his mouth.  _ “Swallow, runt.”  _

Lance’s brow furrowed into a glare, but he, once again, obeyed, hating how the pill slid dry down his already aching esophagus. Narti smiled, her clouded eyes crinkling with the movement, as her fingers pressed gently at his throat to feel him do so. Zethrid removed her hand from his mouth, as Narti knelt down to reach into her bag again, which Lance noticed she had dumped on the floor some time during his struggle. She stood back up with a small jar, and opened it up. After dipping her hand inside, she lifted it towards Lance’s throat. Her fingers were coated in a honey colored substance that she rubbed over his neck. The relief it brought to his sore throat was practically instant. Lance groaned as his eyes fluttered shut, and he leaned into her touch. A breathy wheeze of a laugh slipped past Narti’s lips. She pulled her hand away after patting his cheek and stepped back to Sincline’s side.

Sincline took a step closer. “You’re probably wondering why you’re here.”

“Well,  _ yeah. _ No shit, Sherlock. How’d you figure that one out?” Lance cocked his hip to one side, propping one of his hands on it.

That managed to bring a laugh out of the other man. “Feisty. You’ll do well in the pits with that attitude of yours.”

“The pits…?”

“It’s the reason why I’ve brought you here, but first, do you happen to know what shifters are?”

“Shifters?”

“Yes.”

Lance slowly straightened his stance in order to cross his arms. “Shape shifters? Like...skinwalkers?”

“Precisely.”

“They’re nothing more than really old kids stories.” The women in the room laughed at that, causing Lance to stiffen.

“Do you remember what happened before you woke up here?” Sincline questioned patiently.

“It’s a bit fuzzy.” Lance frowned, his eyes rolling up towards the ceiling as he thought. His eyes retrained their gaze on Sincline. “It doesn’t matter though. I know I was strangled, and I know I was kidnapped. I now know that it was you who did it. As soon as I’m out of here and back home, I’ll report each of you to the police.”

The group around him only laughed again. Lance felt his skin crawl in response. These people were obviously basket cases. Sincline seemed especially amused by his declaration. He stepped closer to Lance, smirk on his face. “How are you going to leave? Trust me. Even if you do manage to escape out that door, you won’t make it far. Not where we are.”

Lance glared at him defiantly. “Why’s that?”

“They’ll kill you.” Seeing Lance’s eyes immediately widen and dart around to Sincline’s companions in the room, Sincline elaborated. “The shifters outside will.”

Ocean blue eyes focused back on him. “Shifters are just stories.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. Everyone here is a shifter except for you. Ezor, demonstrate.”

Ezor bounced forward cheerfully. With a wink, she slowly began to change form. Lance gaped at her as her body rippled through the painful looking transformation, her bones snapping as they reconfigured. Lance’s stomach attempted to heave before he finally looked away, not able to watch anymore. A cold nose bumped into his hand after a couple of minutes. He hesitantly looked down to find a gorgeous wolf with a golden fur coat standing beside him. He stared in shock, and Ezor stared back with baby blue eyes that still appeared to be humanlike. Lance’s eyes slowly rolled back before he fell to the floor in a heap, fainting for the first time in his twenty-one year old life.


End file.
